


Christmas Trees and Transfiguration

by mavisbluemoon



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child - Thorne & Rowling
Genre: Christmas Fluff, Dorks in Love, Fluff, M/M, Magical Pets, Smidge Of Angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-22
Updated: 2018-12-22
Packaged: 2019-09-24 18:25:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,914
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17105831
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mavisbluemoon/pseuds/mavisbluemoon
Summary: Scorpius will finally, finally return home on Christmas Day. Albus is so ready for his boyfriend to be back. Or is he?Scorbus Secret Santa gift for @thealmostrhetoricalquestion





	Christmas Trees and Transfiguration

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Thealmostrhetoricalquestion](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Thealmostrhetoricalquestion/gifts).



> Dear thealmostrhetoricalquestion,
> 
> I was a bit scared having to write a secret santa gift for you, seeing as you're one of my favourite writers out here! I hope you like it, I included house plants and magical pets and lots of fluff.
> 
> Happy Holidays!
> 
> Also thank you very much for the great (and encouraging) beta, @clarasogatsby.

Albus has been home alone for two months now, he’s slept alone in their big, soft bed for 60 nights in a row, he’s missed Scorpius for 60 days without fail. Tomorrow, however, Scorpius returns from his stay abroad for his PhW (Wizard in Philosophy, also known as phew). Just in time for Christmas, if only just, since tonight is Christmas Eve and Albus is also alone on Christmas Eve. 

His parents are visiting Lily in South Africa where she’s studying the impundulu. James had invited him to go clubbing, but Al had firmly declined. He did not enjoy watching hordes of girls fall over his brother. Nor being drunkenly accosted by total strangers only interested in his brother. At least dying his hair sea green prevented most people of mistaking him for Harry Potter. Albus shuddered. Romilda Vane was terrifyingly handsy when drunk. 

Albus has been avoiding their normally cosy home, the emptiness too much to handle when everything and everyone else seems to radiate absolute happiness. He made loads of Christmas decorations with the six-year olds he teaches and even got to take some home, although it’s little Abby’s reparo’d figurines. Abby slipped on the snow and burst into tears over her ruined ornaments so he gave her his and took home the slightly lopsided, faded stars Abby’d made. 

He doesn’t feel like going home soon, he absolutely loathes the idea of spending Christmas Eve all on his own in an empty house. He even took Nunu with him to school, their pet demiguise so they didn’t have to be alone on Christmas Eve either. Lily had found them last year during a stay in the forests of Indonesia with a broken leg and tail. She’d nursed them back to health but the small monkey-like creature didn’t want to return to the forest. They still didn’t know how Nunu had ended up in Albus and Scorpius’ cottage. But that’s probably a common issue when dealing with invisible magical beasts. 

So Albus stays at school to tidy up, doing most of it the Muggle way dreading spending Christmas eve all by himself. When there’s nothing left to clean, order or correct anymore, Albus doesn’t have a choice but to finally head home. He puts on his coat and reluctantly murmurs nox to put out all the lights. Once Nunu is carefully settled in the bag Lily specifically designed for them, Albus locks the door and walks home.

It’s not a long walk, they chose a cottage close to the primary school once Albus had obtained his teaching diploma. Tonight, Albus takes his time, carefully avoiding the main street with all its green-and-red Christmas cheer and too bright fairy lights. Nunu peeps out of the bag and slowly blinks up at him. “I know, love. I just miss him so terribly.” She gives a warm purr. “Yeah, you’re right, one more sleep.” 

He opens the door, sighs and looks around at dark living room, wishing that Scorpius was here to light everything up, like he does with everything. Scorpius’d have started a fire in the fireplace. Scorpius would have hung up Christmas lights in the Christmas tree. Scorpius would be beaming at Albus. His blond hair would be as bright as the fairy lights in the tree behind him.

Wait a minute … a tree … Christmas lights in the Christmas tree. 

Merlin’s bollocks!

Albus forgot to get a tree! And now it’s 8 o’clock on Christmas Eve! No way that he’ll be able to find a tree now. And he needs a tree! He promised they’d decorate that tree together, one of Scorpius favourite things about Christmas. Maybe he could apparate to Hogwarts and cut down a tree in the forbidden forest. Albus shudders at the thought of being all alone in the Forbidden Forest on Christmas Eve. He looks frantically around the living room for something, anything that could double as a Christmas tree. 

Maybe he could go back to the school and take one of the plastic trees in the classrooms. Scorpius prefers a real tree over a plastic one but at least it’s better than nothing? Suddenly Nunu appears behind the collection of houseplants Harry had entrusted in Albus’ care while he and Ginny were visiting Lily. Nunu’s large brown eyes twinkle while they blink slowly in and out of visibility. Are you a wizard or what? Yes! That was it! He can transfigure one of the plants into a tree! Dad won’t mind, will he? Well, he doesn’t have to know, does he? Al can just de-transfigure them before Harry picks them up. 

Albus storms upstairs to the tiny library Scorpius installed in the spare bedroom and grabs his old Transfiguration copy. (Normally Scorpius’ school books made it to the home library but Scorpius’ copy of Transfig was drowned in hot chocolate in their last year.) There’s not really a spell to turn houseplants into Christmas trees, but he finds one that promises to change shrubbery into real trees. Albus returns downstairs, rolls up his sleeves and takes out his wand. Nunu appears next to him, giving him what seems to be a comforting smile. 

“ _Ramifero_!” The cactus closest to Albus shoots up at an alarming speed, Nunu gives an anxious shriek and disappears again just before Albus shouts finite. Less enthusiasm. Or better, less desperation. I can do this, Albus thinks. 

The next few tries are better size-wise but the result never looks much like a fir tree. One time Albus even ends up with bonsai cherry tree, Merlin knows how that happened. Nunu is back to visibility and watches Albus curiously. Albus has now moved on to the second plant, the first one stopped transforming after ten or so attempts, none of which looked anything like a decent Christmas tree. The hour grows late as Albus tries again and again, sometimes just tweaking the top or the colour of the needles (it may be called a blue spruce but that doesn’t mean its needles are ice blue). Sometimes restarting from zero, ‘cause a plant that looks like a mix between a mimbelus mimbeltonia and an olive tree with lilies for flowers is emphatically not a Christmas tree.

In the morning Albus wakes with his face pressed into the sequined couch pillows Scorpius picked out. He’s oddly warm and comfortable for having spent half a night desperately transfiguring house plants into passable Christmas trees and the other half passed out on the couch. Oh wait, he’s covered by one of their soft blankets. Which he doesn’t remember pulling over himself. The coffee maker gurgles. Scorpius!

Albus jumps up from the couch and flies into the kitchen where his gorgeous, kind boyfriend has his back turned to the doorway, cooing at Nunu. “Scorpius!” Albus throws his arms around Scorpius from behind and squeezes so hard that he nearly lifts Scorpius from the ground. Nunu flits happily in and out of visibility. “Albie, ” Scorpius chuckles, “let me turn around so I can hug you too!” Reluctantly Albus loosens his grip on Scorpius just enough for Scorpius to spin around and hug Albus back. The young men sway slightly because of the force of the hug and all the hugs they missed out on these past three months. 

Albus inhales deeply, treasuring the scent of his boyfriend. He presses a tiny kiss just below Scorpius’ hairline. Scorpius pulls back a little, eyes soft. “I missed you so much.” Albus can feel the happy tears swimming in his eyes. He moves closer and brushes his lips against Scorpius’. “I missed you too.” Another soft kiss. “I love you so much, Albie.” “I love you even more.” They press their foreheads together, breathing in the other’s presence. Albus feels calm and right for the first time in months. This is where he belongs.

After what seems ages and still not long enough, Scorpius says “Ready to decorate the tree?” and Albus flinches. The Merlin-be-damned Christmas tree. He can’t quite recall what his final attempt looks like, his memory too fuzzy with exhaustion. “Well …” Albus takes a deep breath, wanting to explain the situation but too scared that Scorpius will be disappointed. “Let’s go,” he grimaces. 

In the living room there’s a mishmash of strange-looking plants and some almost Christmas trees. Albus heads for the tallest, most Christmassy-looking one, which is only slightly more yellow than a regular fir tree but otherwise doesn’t seem to have any deficiencies. 

Grinning excitedly, Scorpius summons the Christmas decorations and retrieves a package wrapped in brown paper and bubble plastic from the coffee table. In Scorpius’ excitement, Albus nearly forgets that their tree used to be a palm tree and he helps Scorpius wrap the shiny blue garlands around the tree. 

They work comfortably together, Scorpius chatting happily away about the series of presentations he had to give for his PhW. Once all the garlands, tinsel and Christmas balls are hanging in the tree, Scorpius finally picks up the mysterious package and hands it over to Albus, smiling for ear to ear. Albus melts a little bit inside. “Presents already? The tree is not even done yet.” “It’s a present for the tree, in a way.” Scorpius answers. Albus carefully unwraps the brown paper. Inside the bubble wrap lies an delicately wrought, intricate Christmas star. The light of the star pulses slightly as Albus looks at it in wonder. “Oh Scorp, this is gorgeous!” Nunu approaches curiously, mesmerized by the twinkle of the star. 

“Do you want to put it on the top together?” Scorpius asks holding out his non-wand hand. Albus gives him a smile full of love in return as he takes the hand, “Yes, of course.” They both draw their wands and Nunu excitedly scurries around their legs. “One, two, three, _locomotor stella_ ” their clasped hands tighten slightly and the star rises up heading for the top of the tree. Just before the peak is settled at on the branch sticking straight up on the fir tree, a loud plop and woosh resounds through the room. Nunu shrieks and promptly disappears.

Where previously stood a tall, proud Christmas tree, now stands a mid-size, lopsided palm tree. 

Decorated with tinsel, garlands and Christmas balls. 

Albus freezes, he can’t look at Scorpius. Scorpius who loves Christmas so dearly, who had talked excitedly in his letters about decorating the tree together, who bought the most wonderful star for the top of the tree. 

Albus still stands frozen but he can’t keep stop the words falling from his mouth. “I kind of forgot to buy one and then it was Christmas Eve and I stayed late at school to get everything ready for after the break and everything was closed so I transfigured Dad’s plants into Christmas trees but none look quite right?” The word vomit doesn’t stop until Scorpius gently puts a finger on Albus’ lips. “Did you transfigure it yourself?” Albus nods. “For me?” Albus nods again, “of course, you love Christmas! I’m so so sorry for this. I’m so stupid, this is not what you wanted.” “I love spending Christmas with you, Albus, I couldn’t care less what our tree looked like. As long as I get to spend it with you.” “You’re not mad, then? This is good enough?” 

Scorpius looks at the palm tree, a top of which the intricate star shines. He smiles broadly when he spots Nunu hiding behind one of the large leaves. He looks back at Albus, smile softening. 

“This is perfect.”


End file.
